


traveling travesty

by swarmsoflizards



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Autistic Character, Autistic Sole Survivor, Discussion of Homophobia, Discussion of Minor Violence, Discussion of Pre-War Life, Discussion of Racism, Established Relationship, Light Angst, M/M, Mentioned Female Sole Survivor, Minor Injuries, Our given character backstory is a shitty sandbox but i am very good at building sandcastles, Slice of Life, Stream of Consciousness, Vault 81, absolutely gratuitous swearing, brief mention of racially-motivated violence, but only kind of, it gets a weirdly preachy at the end but i roll with the punches, minor ham-fisted philosophical allusions, the author's weird political beliefs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-09 11:41:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13480755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swarmsoflizards/pseuds/swarmsoflizards
Summary: Reid fucks up his tooth in a fight with raiders and has to get it pulled. Hancock bears witness to the whole series of events and maybe makes a new friend.





	traveling travesty

**Author's Note:**

> title is from _love will fuck us apart_ by ajj. _you and me / go together like carrots and peas / we could be a happy family / or a traveling travesty, at least_

“Son of a bitch!”

The cry comes from somewhere behind him, but since he can still hear Reid shuffling around, Hancock doesn't bother turning to make sure he’s still alive. The recoil of his shotgun kicks as he shoots one of the last raiders in the chest.

When there aren't any more gunshots or battlecries in the immediate vicinity, he jogs over to where Reid is standing, fumbling around in his pockets for something.

“What happened, you hurt?” he asks, even though none of the blood spattered on his fancy general’s coat looks like his.

“I don't know,” Reid says, but it sounds weird, like he's talking around a mouthful of bubblegum. He finally pulls what looks like a silver hairbrush out and turns it so he can use the back as a mirror. He bares his teeth like a molerat and swears again. “I broke my fucking crown!”

Hancock blinks. “Your what?”

“My- my fake tooth. I broke it.” He bares his teeth again and, sure enough, the second one on his left is just a sharp chunk. Looks like a shard of a broken plate.

“Shit,” he says, because what else do you say?

“Goddamn it, that thing was expensive,” he moans, and that really doesn't seem like the biggest issue at hand to Hancock, but that's Reid for you.

“They can't, like, glue it back together or something?”

“I doubt it. Maybe back in my day, I don't know, but not now. I'm gonna have to get it pulled. Fuck!”

They couldn't even find the rest of his tooth. Digging around in the dust around the half-dozen dead raiders for a chunk of Reid is fun and all, but eventually they have to call it quits. As they walk back to the nearest settlement, Hancock can see Reid poking at his tooth with his tongue out of the corner of his eye. He doesn't stop soon he's gonna dislodge the rest of it by himself and spare them the trip to some hack surgeon with a pliers.

When they finally walk through the gates, Reid looks like he's gonna drop dead. Hasn't had the best day, he guesses. Understandable. Some settler tries to wave them over, but Reid pretends he doesn't see and just keeps walking ‘til he reaches the empty shack in the corner he's stayed in a couple times.

He shucks off his coat and drops it in the corner instead of hanging it up somewhere, which is how Hancock knows he's really not feeling it. His armor falls to the floor without a care one piece at a time until he's just in his underwear and doesn't even bother shoving it all into a pile before climbing into bed. Poor guy.

“You alright?” Hancock asks.

 _“Mmph,”_ replies the bed.

Hancock sighs and starts gathering Reid’s stuff, piling up his armor and hanging his coat and hat on the corner of the dresser before undressing himself.

Reid only gets like this when he's having a really bad day. He's tried to explain it before, how his mind gets tangled up like this, but Hancock thinks they were a little high that time so he doesn't really get it. He just knows that Reid has to wait it out, preferably alone.

Well, preferably alone before he started going with Hancock.

So Hancock knows Reid’ll appreciate it when he slides under the covers next to him, slotting his legs behind Reid’s and draping his arm around his waist. Reid sighs, and Hancock nuzzles into the back of his neck. Or hair, really. It's mostly his frizzy hair.

“Thank you,” comes a muffled voice, and Hancock can feel him breathing deep next to him.

“It's what I'm here for,” he jokes, but he’s kinda serious. He's glad he can be here for Reid when he's having trouble.

He feels when Reid falls asleep, a last deep sigh before his breaths even out. Weird end to a weird day. Hopefully they can get this thing sorted out tomorrow.

\- - -

Hancock wakes to Reid’s arm pulling him in closer by the waist. Somehow in the night they’ve gotten turned around, and now Hancock’s the little spoon. He turns his head to look at Reid and sees that he's awake too, though only barely. His eyes are all squinty like he's trying to figure out if he's still asleep or not.

“Mornin’, Sunshine,” he murmurs, and Reid’s eyes snap to his. He smiles, warm, in that way that makes Hancock’s insides melt into goo, and he smiles back before turning around to face him proper.

“Morning,” Reid says, before shifting around a little in a way that says he's trying to unfuck his back.

“Better this morning?”

“Much better. I'm sorry. Thanks for dealing with me,” and when he says it it’s with this low tone that's a little embarrassed.

“Ain't nothin’. I mean it.”

Reid leans in to kiss him then, warm and sweet, and the problems of yesterday go forgotten for a little longer.

When they finally make it out of bed, they have to decide what to do next. They could hold out for Diamond City, but Reid doesn't trust the doctors there, and it's possible he could fuck up his tooth more on the way. A nearby settlement would be an easier trip, but there's no guarantee they’d have a doctor.

“I think Vault 81’s our best bet,” Reid says, scratching at his beard.

“You sure?”

“Well, they're all in love with me after I saved the kid, and they’ve probably got the most classically trained doctors around. I think it's a safe bet.”

“You want me to hang around outside?”

“What? No,” Reid gives him a quizzical look. “Why wouldn't you come in with me?”

“You serious?” At Reid’s blank look, Hancock sighs. “I can't imagine that the residents of pristine, rad-free Vault Whatever will feel great letting in the trash.”

“They let me in.”

He's gonna make him say it, isn't he? “They won't let me in ‘cause I'm a ghoul, Reid. And normally I wouldn't give a shit, but you're tryin’ to get to a doctor, remember? I don't wanna jeopardize that.”

“Okay. One, Vault 81 is decent folk. I'm all buddy-buddy with the Overseer, and they’d let in a yao guai if I said it was with me. Two, I wouldn't wanna go anywhere full of fuckin’ bigots. Hell, I own a house in Diamond City that I never stay in because what's the point if I'm not with you?”

Well. Alright then. Hancock turns away, embarrassed. “You’re turnin’ soft, old man.”

Reid laughs. “I've always been soft and you know it,” he says, and wraps Hancock up in one of his bear hugs, pressing a wet kiss to his cheek.

Once Hancock manages to free his arms he turns and wraps them loosely around Reid’s neck and stands up on his toes to get as close to eye-level as he can. Now that they're properly facing each other Hancock can kiss him for real, meeting his lips in a soft, insistent kiss, trying to tell Reid without words how much he means to him. Trying to express his gratitude that this wonderful man chooses to be with him.

Reid goes with it, because of course he does, and one of his hands creeps up to curl underneath Hancock’s chin. His thumb strokes his jaw lightly. “I'm serious. You’re my favorite person. I don't wanna be around people that can't appreciate that.”

And shit, what can he do to that but melt?

Reid’s mouth is soft and warm, and as Hancock does his damndest to glue his own to it Reid’s other hand finds his hip. It's comfortable like a body-warm bed is comfortable, like he wants to curl up and stay there forever.

The hand at his hip spreads a little bit and a finger strokes below, just light enough to make his skin jump, and suddenly it's hotter. Breath puffs against his mouth and he grins before diving back in, ready to go to town.

Then Reid squeals and flinches back.

Hancock stays, staring at the sluggish drop of blood welling from Reid’s lip.  _Did I do that?_ he almost asks before he remembers Reid’s fucked up tooth and a startled laugh forces its way out.

Reid’s eyes snap to his at the sound, and Hancock sees the edges of his lips twitch up. “Stop laughing, you asshole, I just fuckin’ injured myself making out with you!”

That makes Hancock laugh even harder, and soon enough Reid joins in, though he hisses and sticks his tongue where the cut must be after a minute. Laughing must have stretched it.

“Let's get that fucking thing fixed,” Hancock says, and the look of desperate agreement Reid shoots him makes him laugh again.

\- - -

The short trek to Vault 81 is uneventful aside from a sudden downpour that leaves them sprinting down to the entrance soaking wet. Once they're sheltered Reid takes off his general’s hat and pours out the water that had gathered in the gaps, and Hancock laughs before he realizes his tricorn probably has the same problem.

The guards inside greet Reid by name with smiles, and though Hancock definitely gets a few  _looks,_ true to Reid’s word they let him in.

They walk down the stairs awkwardly, Reid waving to the people and Hancock self-consciously shuffling along behind him. After a minute a kid sprints across the atrium and skids to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, just in time to launch himself at Reid. “Mr. Reid, you're back!” he yells, loud enough the entire floor can probably hear him.

“Hey, kid!” Reid kneels down next to him and plops his hand on his shoulder. “How’ve you been?”

“I'm good! Did you bring anything?”

“Austin!” comes another voice, an older lady hurrying over to them. “Don't be rude, Mr. Reid is our guest.” She sounds all wired, like she needs a good nap and some jet.

“Actually, I did bring something for you and Erin.” He reaches around to pull something from his bag before handing it to the kid, who grins.

“Wow, Grognak! And I've never seen this one before! Thanks, Mr. Reid!”

“No problem, buddy,” he says before standing back up. “Dr. Penske, could you point me towards-”

“Whoa! Who’re you?” Reid and the doc both tense up as the kid finally notices Hancock, eyes wide and mouth agape.

Before he can respond, Reid claps a hand on his shoulder and says, “This is my friend Hancock.” It's a pretty clear broadcast to everyone but the kid:  _he’s with me._ He appreciates the sentiment, despite the very real possibility that Reid didn't even realize he was sending a message at all.

“Are you a ghoul?”

“Austin!” the old lady snaps.

“What?”

“It's alright,” Hancock speaks up for the first time. “Yeah, I'm a ghoul.”

“I thought you were all crazy?”

“Austin! Where’d you hear that?” Jesus, the lady’s gonna have an aneurysm right in front of them.

“I dunno, someone at school!” The kid’s shrugging so aggressively that his shoulders are hitting his ears.

“Well, I've certainly been called crazy before, but the word you're thinkin’ of is  _feral,_ kid, and most ghouls aren't.”

“Oh.”

“Dr. Penske, we’ve gotta get to medical. Could you give us directions?” Reid interjects before anyone can ask more uncomfortable questions.

“Certainly, but I’ll bring you there myself. It's no trouble,” she adds when she sees Reid open his mouth to protest. “Really. I was just about to take my lunch break anyway.”

While she and Reid make polite chatter, Hancock takes in the scenery best he can. He's never been in a vault before; why would he have? To hear people talk, the only vaults still operating were full of brainwashed loonies, but clearly word of mouth wasn't much to go on.

Everything is so clean. It’s freaky, sort of. It makes the disconnect between him and Reid more pronounced to think he grew up in a world this spotless and didn't think anything of it. He represses the urge to reach for his hand, not wanting to push their luck when the guy’s health is at stake.

Then he notices he has a shadow. The kid, Austin, is holding hands with the lady, but is lagging behind and keeps sneaking glances his way. Can't be helped, he guesses. He's fine with playing ambassador for ghouls, he's done it enough times.

“What's up, kid?” he asks once he catches eye contact with him before he can turn away again.

“I've never met a ghoul before,” he says, probably trying to explain himself from earlier. Cute.

“That so? Do I live up to your expectations?”

He grins. “Everyone at school always says ghouls are scary, but you just seem normal. Not that I'd be scared anyway,” he adds quickly. “But everyone else would be.”

Hancock’s mouth quirks up. “Of course.”

They stop in a hallway in front of a shut door. “Here you are,” Penske says. “It was nice seeing you again, Mr. Reid.”

“Thanks again, Doc,” Reid says before shaking her hand.

Austin pulls at Penske’s sleeve. “Gran, can I stay with them?” he asks quietly, like he doesn't want them to hear. Hancock shoots an amused glance at Reid, but he's starin’ at the kid with a weird look in his eye. It takes Hancock too long to realize he's probably thinking about his own kid, and then he feels like an ass for forgetting.

“It's alright with me, but why don't you ask them?” Penske replies in the same soft tone of voice, which seems to snap Reid back to the present.

“I'm gonna be in there,” he says, gesturing to the door, “but you can hang out with Hancock.” Reid grins and nods at him, a gleam in his eye.

“Can I?” asks Austin, his eyes wide as dinnerplates, and well, he can't say no to that, can he?

“Yeah, why not?”

\- - -

They can see Reid chatting with the doctor through the window. He’s gesturing wildly with his hands like he always does, and the doctor looks mildly amused before he motions for Reid to sit down.

“Is Mr. Reid sick?” Austin asks, gazing up at Hancock with worry in his wide eyes.

“Nah, he just f- messed up one of his teeth.” Censoring himself isn't instinctual, but Reid does it, which means it's probably not a terrible idea.

“Oh. Is he gonna be okay?”

“Yeah, he’ll be fine. They just gotta pull the rest out.” Austin looks at the doctor digging through his tools with a slightly queasy look on his face, and Hancock thinks that maybe a distraction is in order.

“Hey, buddy.” Austin looks over. “You’re pretty curious about the Commonwealth, huh?”

His eyes light up and he nods vigorously. “Yeah! Mr. Reid came and talked to my class about the time he fought a deathclaw and it was awesome! We’ve always wanted to know more about it, but since then it's all we talk about! Me and Erin play like we're outside all the time, but whenever Mr. Reid comes by he brings us new stuff to play with and it’s awesome!”

Jesus, this kid talks a mile a minute. “Wait. He told you about fighting a deathclaw? Which time?”

Austin’s eyes widen to the size of saucers. “It was more than once?”

“Uh, nevermind. What kind of stuff does Reid bring you?”

“Outside stuff usually, like pinecones and sticks and cool rocks! But sometimes like today he brings comics and stuff. He always brings so much. Where does he get all of it?”

How do you explain the concept of the great outdoors to someone who’s never experienced it? He’s probably never set foot in dirt in his life, and maybe never will. What does that do to someone’s mind? It's no wonder vault-dwellers are notorious for being easy marks, they’ve just left the cave their entire lives took place in. How do they handle that, like, philosophically?

Unaware of Hancock’s miniature existential crisis, Austin keeps talking. “He knows how much me and Erin love the outside stuff. He rescued her cat once, too, after he got outside, and he came back all wet and smelling weird! But now Erin never leaves Ashes alone because she's afraid he’ll run away again. Do you have cats in the Commonwealth?”

Austin stops talking long enough for Hancock to actually answer. “Yep, they're all over. Help with the roaches.”

“Ashes helps with our roaches too.” Austin’s grin is big and toothy. “He’s a real good hunter. Some of the grown-ups said he’d die up there, but I knew he’d be fine.”

A sharp motion catches their attention through the window, and then Reid’s sitting upright and covering his mouth. Hancock would bet his coat that if the door were open, they’d have heard Reid squeal like a molerat.

The door opens and the doctor sticks his head out. “We’re all done in here, he’ll be out in just a sec.” Austin is racing through the door before Hancock’s fully standing up, at Reid’s ankles like a puppy.

“Mr. Reid! Are you okay? Mr. Hancock said you got a tooth pulled! Did it hurt?”

Reid briefly makes eye contact with Hancock as he passes through the door before answering. “Yeah, buddy, I'm good. Didn't hurt too bad. How’s it look?” he asks, and bares his teeth again, and  _fuck,_ there's a big empty space right next to his front tooth, yikes. The kid makes this drawn out noise, somewhere between “ooh” and “ew” with his nose wrinkled, and Reid laughs.

“Thanks, doc,” he says to the doctor, who waves him off.

“No problem, Mr. Reid. You've certainly done enough for us.”

Reid nods in acknowledgement with a smile, and brings a hand to Hancock’s upper back. “We’re gonna spend the night here, Austin. Wanna walk with us?”

“Yeah!” Austin’s grin is ear-to-ear as he leads the way back out the door. “How’d you mess up your tooth? I bet it was something really cool, like a bear or a tiger or something…”

Hancock tunes the kid out momentarily to look at Reid and assess how he’s doing. He’s looking at the kid, gaze full of love and everything as he responds, but his eyes aren't as bright as they were when they came in, which means he’s getting tired. Probably sick of talking to people, even if he loves them like he loves the kid.

When they get to Reid’s room, he lets the kid keep babbling for a minute before catching him in a pause. “Thanks for keeping us company, Austin,” he says as he squats down to eye-level. He's gonna regret that in a minute.

“No problem, it's fun when you visit, Mr. Reid! You should come back more often, and you too, Mr. Hancock!” Austin goes in for a hug from Reid, and Reid gathers him up in one of his massive fucking bear hugs, and it's about the cutest thing Hancock’s ever seen.

Austin waves at him as he turns to go back down the walkway, and they both wave back. After struggling to get standing Reid opens the door and walks through, and the second it's shut behind him his posture goes to shit. He rubs at his face before collapsing sideways on the bed.

“You alright there, brother?” Hancock asks with a bit of a smile as he starts to shed his layers.

“That was exhausting. My fucking mouth hurts. I never know how to act with kids. I don't like vaults. Ugh.”

Hancock laughs. “Unless you want some med-x I can't help much with the first one,” he says as he sits on the bed next to him, “but you were amazing with the kid. He thinks you're the shit, he told me so. You're doing a great job.” He’s looking down at Reid sort of sideways, because Reid’s collapsed on his back and Hancock’s still sitting up. He reaches over to awkwardly pat his shoulder. “And we’re leavin’ in the morning, so.”

Reid reaches up and grasps Hancock’s shoulder to pull him down, and Hancock goes. Half on top of Reid is a pretty perfect vantage point for making out, so he leans in and presses his lips to Reid’s. It's slow and wet and Reid’s beard scratches against his face and it's pretty fuckin’ great.

Then Hancock pulls back a bit. “Wait,” he says, still against Reid’s lips. “I just remembered. You said your tooth was fake?” Reid nods. “How’d you lose it the first time?”

Reid wraps an arm around him and rolls over, so they're on their sides but still facing each other. “It's not a very good story,” he says, and his voice is so low that Hancock can feel the vibrations. “It was back when I was in the army. Real early on, still in boot camp. I, uh, got in a fistfight with this other recruit. He said something really racist, like I don't even wanna repeat it, and I just fuckin’ decked him. We were both bleeding pretty bad when they pried us apart, I remember spitting blood on the ground, and a chunk of my tooth went with it.”

“Shit.” As big as Reid is, as good as he is in a gunfight, Hancock literally can't imagine him starting a fistfight. He's too… not soft. Pure or radiating sunshine or some shit.

“I was really angry back then. I was drafted into a war I didn't believe in, dragged away from my new wife, and thrown into, like, this crazy testosterone-filled environment where everyone was screaming at me all the time and I was surrounded by all these fuckin’ white guys who signed up because their great-great-grandfathers fought in World War II, and I'm just some shitty punk who drew the short straw. I was an angry and overstimulated powder keg. It was only a matter of time before I took out someone. Not that he didn't deserve it,” he adds with a wry smile. “That guy was fuckin’ racist. I probably would've just got in his face otherwise, but what he said was about the Chinese. My wife was Chinese. I sorta lost my shit.”

“Damn, Reid.”

“Yeah.” He squeezes Hancock a little tighter. “I'm better now, obviously. My- my wife, Yu, she helped me, and I got therapy, and I got diagnosed and learned how to deal with my whole shit.” He gestures to his head. “But I was bad for a long time.”

Anytime someone mentions Reid’s wife it seems to summon a stone in Hancock’s stomach, a reminder that he’s chilling in a dead woman’s shadow. This time he finds himself deeply thankful that Reid had someone to help him through such an awful time in his life. “I'm sorry that all happened to you.”

Reid huffs a laugh. “Me too. It's funny how, you know, everyone here sees back then as sort of a flawed utopia. Like, obviously they fucked up a lot, but individual people’s lives must have been great, if stupid and misguided, right?” Hancock is a little surprised that Reid’s right on the money. He's more observant than he gives himself credit for. “And that was probably true for some people, but most of us… we were  _so scared_ , all the time. My wife’s whole family was rounded up by their own fucking fascist government and thrown into an internment camp, and she was only spared because of my ‘service.’ She got jumped one time walking alone to the bus stop and beat to shit because she was Chinese, so she started carrying a knife. You know, after she could fucking walk without crutches. I had friends who were at queer bars that got raided by the cops and they would get arrested for ‘indecency.’ I was afraid I would get fucking murdered by the cops because I was black. Like yeah, we were afraid of getting blown up, but that was the least of our problems. It was a living nightmare. At least the people trying to kill us now are upfront about it. They're not pretending it's for your own good.”

Hancock can't think of anything to say. Since meeting Reid he’s thought more about pre-war America, sure, but he’d never have thought- never have thought it was that bad. That dangerous.

“I have so much respect for you,” Reid says to him (which, what?), “because you saw injustice happening, you saw abuse of power, and you fucking hanged it off a balcony.” Reid’s staring at him now, his big brown eyes fuckin’ boring into his soul. “I'm an anarchist. I don't believe in politics. But what you're doing isn't politics, not really. Or, like, it's what politics _should_ be. I know you think you're doing a shitty job because you hate yourself and everything, but I think you're doing amazing and I love you.”

Fuck Reid for leaving him speechless so much. He’s sure he looks like a fish, his mouth open trying to think of something to say. Reid leans in to press a kiss next to his eye. “I'm sorry for getting preachy at the end there, I kind of lost the thread of the story.”

Hancock tries to blink away any emotion in his eyes before meeting Reid in another kiss. He tries to show how grateful he is, how much he loves him (and shit if that isn't scary), just how happy he is that Reid’s in his life. Because he is, he’s  _so_ happy. Obviously shit isn't perfect or anything, but Reid being here really smooths out the rough edges of everything, and he knows that being there with Reid makes things easier for him, too. God, he's turning into such a fucking sap. Or maybe he’s like Reid said yesterday and he’s always been one, too.

He deepens their kiss, his tongue tracing the seam of their lips, and Reid moves in closer before freezing and hissing  _“Fuck!”_

Hancock stops too, not sure what's going on. “What happened?”

“My fucking back,” he squeezes out, his jaw clenched. “Hang on.” He shifts his legs, and inch by agonizing inch he scooches around so he’s laying the right way on the bed. When he’s in place he relaxes and gestures for Hancock to join him.

He climbs up, careful not to jostle the bed, and slots in next to Reid. “I've still got that med-x if you want it, brother.”

Reid huffs a laugh. “Ask me again in the morning.”

“You're gonna take a narcotic painkiller first thing in the morning? That seems unhealthy, even for me.”

“Okay, Mr. Experimental Radiation Drug, I won't take painkillers for my fucked-up back. Does that make you happy?”

Hancock laughs. “Fine, fine, do whatever you want, see if I give a shit.” He shifts and snuggles up closer to Reid, then realizes he only took his coat off and didn't undress, neither of them did. Eh, who cares.

Reid gingerly drapes his arm over Hancock’s shoulders and leans in so his chin is resting on top of Hancock’s head. “Goodnight.”

It’s, like, 3 o’clock, but that doesn’t seem worth mentioning. He’s tired too. “‘Night.” Hancock reaches over and turns off the lamp. “I, uh, I love you too.”

Reid doesn't say anything, but he squeezes his shoulder, and that's more than enough.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll admit it got away from me a bit, I ain't too proud. This'll probably be a series; I love Reid too much for it not to be. I'm in the middle of another playthrough with his wife Yu, so I'll probably write stuff for her too. 
> 
> On another note, based on what little knowledge we have of pre-war society, I've always assumed that its social culture would be at least somewhat analogous to the American 1950s in the same way most of its raygun-gothic aesthetic is. In reality that sort of cultural stagnation is impossible, but you know. It's fiction. Obviously that kind of social climate is deeply damaging to everyone, let alone any kind of minority, and I think in today's political climate especially we need to take pains to avoid falsely thinking of the past as some sort of "golden age." We moved on for a reason, and this world that we're playing in that didn't move on got blown the fuck up because of it. So, you know, not ideal.
> 
> Come follow me on tumblr: [thomrainierskies.tumblr.com](http://thomrainierskies.tumblr.com)


End file.
